On Fri, 25 May 2007 22:48:04 +0100, K wrote:


Should I expect to see worms in there by now .. my Mum's bin is full
of them! ;-)

It sounds like it's too dry.

Hi and it could well be as I've not added any extra water to the 'mix'
;-(

Possibly too airy as well - if the stuff is too spread out in there,
it's difficult for it to stay moist.

The middle of the bottom of the dustbin was cut out (leaving a
reasonable 'rim') and is stood on plain earth. There are (now) about
10 x 20mm diameter holes around the top, just under the lid line (is
that enough / to many?). I have forked the contents about a few times
but it's sorta quite well packed in there (and never seems to fill
up!g) apart from the surface, in between the lumpy bits etc.

Things like cabbage stalks need
cutting up a bit before going in.

Ah, ta. I have noticed some complete 'hearts' (is that what they call
them?) in there so I'll make sure they are chopped up next time.

What I'd do next is water the whole lot, and then dump about 3 inches of
garden soil on top of it. That will cut down the smell as well as giving
another source of worms.

Ok and ta muchly. It actually started off as somewhere for kitchen
scraps so hasn't really had any true garden stuff in there as yet. I
did strim the front and back gardens today (well, my
next-door-neighbours gardens as we borrow them) so I have enough
matter to fill our little bin several times over. I'll have to get
some topsoil from somewhere as we don't have any 'surplus'. I don't
suppose a bag of the bought stuff would come with worms would it? I do
have a fairly big plastic planter that is full of soil (used for
French beans last year) would some of that do?

I'll put 'some' grass and soil in there as you suggest and give it a
drink. Apart from doing the boy thing (I keep forgetting) how much
water would I apply to a half filled std plastic dustbin would you say
please?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I'm not really a gardener, not into 'flowers' at all but do like
trying the 'produce' thing. To that end I have just planted 20 runner
bean (plants, started by a mate who is a 'professional' gardener). We
had quite a good crop last year and they are probably the only
vegetable I actually 'enjoy' (shredded and steamed). :-)